Lots of work going on down in St Mary Centre. New railings here, coats of paint there. Does this mean that Peer Group are tarting it up for a quick sale?
Perhaps it's just routine renovation to keep the empty shops lettable and to generate more rent. But what if Peer Group have decided that their business model isn't working in Thornbury any more?
Their strategy is:
" .... to secure growth through the asset management of the existing portfolio and the acquisition of carefully chosen new investment and development opportunities."
So do they view the Centre as an appreciating capital asset or as a revenue stream from lettings? If they've lost confidence in future lettings then I wouldn't be surprised to see a swift sale as they seek to rescue whatever gains they've made.
If my surmise is correct it will be interesting to see who buys them out - Americans, Germans, Chinese or Arabs.
Not all bad news if the new owners were to value their holding by the NPV of its future rental income because they might then have a stronger incentive to eliminate empty premises by offering keener rents.
Let's see what happens.
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